


And yet Methinks I have Astronomy

by Celestial_Alignment



Category: Wild Wild West (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Plantonic - Freeform, Stargazing, little angst, romantic if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestial_Alignment/pseuds/Celestial_Alignment
Summary: One shot of Jim getting angsty, and the only cure is Artie's voice.
Relationships: Artemus Gordon & James West, Artemus Gordon/James West
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	And yet Methinks I have Astronomy

**Author's Note:**

> Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck;  
> And yet methinks I have Astronomy,  
> But not to tell of good or evil luck,  
> Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons’ quality;  
> Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,  
> Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,  
> Or say with princes if it shall go well  
> By oft predict that I in heaven find …
> 
> \-- William Shakespeare Sonnet 14

Artemus Gordon and James West traveled in the lap of luxury with their private train, but they weren’t above roughing it when the job called for it. They had been riding across the open desert of California for two days now, and this was the second time they stopped to make camp for the night. There weren’t a lot of trees around here, unless one counted the Joshua tree with its spiky limbs reaching for the sky, or much rock for that matter. The place was an endless obstacle course of rocks and buttes with a trail the width of a sidewinder.

They couldn’t build a fire. They were on their way to infiltrate the secret stronghold of a rogue ex-Union officer and his followers, they couldn’t risk drawing attention. A tiny fire would be easy to spot in such a moonless night. This wasn’t their first dark night in the wild, however, and they contentedly felt their way in the dark to lay out their beds to get much needed rest.

They were so tired from the long day’s ride, there wasn’t much said between them as they went through the motions, and Jim could hear the grunting from Artie as he settled himself down on the hard dirt, reclining and exhaling with relief. Jim eased onto his back as well, his jacket rolled up for a pillow, his gun belt by his head where he knew he could find it.

Though his body ached from riding, he found himself wide awake as he stared up at the wide open desert sky. It was black as pitch, the stars so numerous and bright he half expected them to turn into a swarm of lightning bugs. Those didn’t exist out here, though. Just the stars and the smear of white that was the Milky Way. 

The sky was immense. It almost made him feel small, and he wriggled a little on his lumpy bed. That expanse above them pulled him away from the earthly concerns, made him ease away from the job and dangers just for a moment. But he still felt everything coiled so tightly inside, his body buzzing with a fight that could happen at any moment or was days away. He felt this every day since he enlisted in the war all those years ago.

Even though they were on assignment, right here in the middle of the wild desert with the animals and the bugs and the dry elements, he was safe because he had Artemus Gordon beside him. And he knew as he looked skyward that this was not forever. One day, if he lived to retire or if their careers split them apart, moments like these would be memories. There may be a day when he could forget what it’s like to be in comfortable silence with Artie, side by side and safe, happy in the face of danger. He didn’t like to think of a world where Artie wasn’t in it. His throat hurt.

“Hey, Artie…” he whispered.

“Hm..?” his partner grunted. He could tell by the direction of his voice he was lying on his side, his back to Jim.

“I can’t remember the name of that constellation…” It was a lie. Jim knew them all.

“Hm… Big Dipper. Ursa Major…”

“No… No, I know that one. It’s not out right now. I’m talking about that one, a little more North…”

“Cassiopeia?” Artie was on his back now.

“No… The other one, the square one…”

“The Little Dipper.”

Artie was tired, and Jim sympathized, but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to just hear the crickets right now. He scooted his top half a little, not caring that he was halfway on the dirt now. His shoulder bumped into Artie’s and he pointed up, the stars so bright he could see the outline of his arm and hand against it. He moved in close to align his pointing finger with Artie’s line of sight.

“ _That_ one…”

Artie tilted his head to look along the length of Jim’s arm. “Oh that one…” he yawned. “That’s Cepheus. No one ever talks about that one.”

“Right… Cepheus…” Jim feigned epiphany. “He was the one with the lyre, right?”

“James, my boy, you’re a phenomenal agent but a terrible astronomer…”

Artie was waking up and Jim smiled in the dark, not bothering to return to his own bed as he listened to Artemus take a preparatory breath.

“King Cepheus of ancient Greece was married to Cassiopeia, the lovely lady sitting North of us right there… They had a daughter, Andromeda, who, in their humble parental opinion, was the most beautiful…”

Artie’s voice was so crisp in the dark, every word articulated with theatrical perfection, his voice low since there was no need to raise it with their heads practically together, the reverberation of it running right through Jim and soothing everything in him. Jim liked music as much as any other man, but the thing he liked hearing most was his partner’s voice.

“So beautiful, in fact,” Artie continued, “they thought she could beat the sea nymphs in a beauty contest… Poseidon didn’t like that kind of talk about his daughters… So he sent a sea monster to attack the place. In order to fix the problem, an oracle told Cepheus to let the monster eat his beautiful daughter… Lucky for her though, Perseus happened to be in the neighborhood with his severed Medusa head and he saved her, and they fall in love and get married… Basically a typical Tuesday for you… Minus, of course, the marriage part…”

Jim never stopped smiling as he listened, that last jab at his permanent bachelorhood making Jim chuckle. He knew the story well, particularly how many details Artemus had skipped over, and it made it all the more wonderful to hear. Although, he did wish Artie could be meticulously detailed. He wouldn’t have minded hearing him talk all night. It took his mind off of things, helped him unwind.

Jim released a sigh and linked his fingers over his stomach.

“Oh yeah… I remember now…” he said tiredly. “Thanks, Artie.”

“My pleasure, Jim. Goodnight.”


End file.
